Mashable

A thousand words

Meet the Instagrammer who's on a mission to change the world, one picture at a time

By Ryan Katon

Presented by

A thousand words

Meet the Instagrammer who's on a mission to change the world, one picture at a time

By Ryan Katon

Presented by

American Greetings

The ThankList is presented by American Greetings. We've all heard of a bucketlist, but what about a ThankList? It's a list of people you want to thank for shaping you as a person. And a step toward a world that's just a little bit nicer. Who’s on your ThankList?

If the Internet had neighborhoods, Facebook, Twitter and their peers would inhabit the ritzy areas where, beneath perfectly manicured grass and picturesque white picket fences, self-obsession and hostility can erupt without warning. Are your hedges uneven? Are your shoes the wrong brand? Your entire life is under scrutiny and little good comes from it.

This problem grows as social media sites take up more and more of our online time, leaving some to wonder: Is there a way social media can be an agent for good?

Branden Harvey is one of the few who responds, "yes." Armed only with a camera and the words in his head, he's out to make the Internet – and the real world – a better place.

If you look on Instagram, the most popular things right now are pictures of mountains, waterfalls and coffee. And I just refuse to do that.

His lips were still swollen from a bad reaction to some antibiotics, but Branden Harvey's response to the question of how he could grow his social media following from 100,000 to 1 million was crystal clear. "Selling out" isn't in the playbook.

The "20-something" photographer from Oregon is a bit of a rare bird in that way: He recognizes that social media is a game of clout, ruled by popularity metrics, but rather than pander to new followers, Harvey wants to use his talents and his existing social reach to help the world. His main work – contrary to the prevailing Instagram aesthetic – has a humanitarian slant, serving up untold stories of dignity and hope in some of the world's most unlikely places.

"That’s my big thing," he says. "I always focus on capturing authentic things that you and I can connect with, like, 'where do I see my mom, where do I see my neighbor in this person? How can I make this resonate with people? How can I make it life changing?'"

Branden Harvey became a professional photographer at age 16. He started off doing ordinary shoots for a handful of small nonprofits and, over time, was even courted by larger organizations like Sony, Timex and Petco. However, things changed in Harvey's career when a group of humanitarian aid foundations started offering him something rare and more powerful than money: A voice.

Of course, it's easy to have a voice on social media – anyone can say anything at any time – but for a natural storyteller like Harvey, there were times when telling a brand's story limited his perspective.

The 'story portrait'

Harvey has a unique approach to his presence on social media: Unlike traditional photographers on Instagram or Twitter who rely on an image and a small caption to tell a tale, Harvey has pioneered what he calls the "story portrait" (now an official hashtag on Instagram). Story portraits are effectively photo essays. With every image, Harvey provides narrative context in an article-esque caption, giving literal meaning to the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Harvey's story portraits are beautiful and detailed, many of them receiving thousands of "likes," and the tactic hasn't gone unnoticed by prospective employers.

"[Now] I’m getting nonprofits [that] say, 'come out shoot photos for us and share the story in your own way on your own platform,'" he says. "I think that’s something really, really powerful and cool. I think it builds trust with people. When people hear a story they resonate with, they want to be a part of that story. I don’t have to be the one begging anyone who doesn’t want to give money."

Most of Harvey's journeys take him to Africa, where his photos help amplify the work being done by organizations like World Vision. He says he travels to a handful of countries about every three months, doing work with nearly 20 nonprofits.

Harvey gets paid for his work. How couldn't he? But his personal brand – and the authenticity that comes with it – is in many ways more powerful than PR.

It was just this really cool thing of challenging my preconceived notions of Africa and my audience's preconceived notions of Africa.

"I showed up [in Rwanda] with a nonprofit called These Numbers Have Faces. They basically say, 'white people do not need to be fixing Africa – Africans need to be fixing Africa, because they know their culture.' So what These Numbers does is they take the best and brightest students in Rwanda – the kids getting numbers 1, 2, 3 on the national exams, but don’t have the money for university – and basically pay for them if they [agree to] stay in Africa.

"I spent a week hanging out with all these really brilliant minds and they’re all close to my age too, so they’re like peers, but smarter than me. [On Instagram] I talked about this dude Fred that I met and I was like, 'I would invest in this dude’s business.' He’s so cool and has all these great ideas. It was so cool to be in Africa where most people are expecting all the African clichés, but I feel like I’m hanging out at the Shark Tank. It was just this really cool thing of challenging my preconceived notions of Africa and my audience's preconceived notions of Africa."

That last point is particularly important to Harvey. His work is about capturing hope and dignity in his subjects, but sometimes even he needs a little help seeing the good. Harvey credits Justin Zoradi, CEO and cofounder of These Numbers Have Faces, with that vision: "I'm thankful for Justin because he doesn't see Africa as full of problems, but full of potential."

Despite playing the part of the hero on social media, Harvey doesn't think the Internet has a personality problem. In fact, he's famous on Instagram for transforming his digital interactions into real-life relationships.

"There’s something really special and unique about Instagram that I can’t quite put a finger on," he says. "I think there is so much potential to create community in so many ways."

You could say that Harvey's work just attracts the right kind of people, making it easy to be friendly. But one thing is for sure: With 100,000 followers and counting, Branden Harvey's uplifting message of hope and dignity is giving the Internet a meaningful dose of medicine. And maybe, down the road, the world will look back on the stories Harvey told and count him among the first in a long line of digital activists.